Lithium-ion batteries power smartphones and tablets and electric vehicles. Until now, manufacturers had to design their devices around standard battery sizes, and it limited design options and capacities for consumer devices. But researchers led by Christopher Reyes and Benjamin Wiley have developed a new 3D printing method that can be used for lithium-ion batteries of almost any shape. They report their results in ACSAppliedEnergyMaterials. 3D printed lithium-ion batteries can already drive LEDs Most lithium-ion batteries on the market are rectangular or cylindrical. In theory, 3D printing technology can print entire devices in almost any shape, including batteries, structures and electronic components. However, the problem holding back fully 3D printed lithium-ion batteries is that the polymer used for 3D printing, PLA, is not an ion conductor. The researchers wanted to find a way to print complete lithium-ion batteries using low-cost and widely available fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printers. 3D printing arbitrary shape batteries will change the limitations of current product design.Also read:lifepo4 battery 48v 200ah To improve the ionic conductivity of PLA, the researchers injected PLA for 3D printing into an electrolyte solution. Additionally, they incorporated graphene or multi-walled carbon nanotubes into the anode or cathode, respectively, to help improve the battery's electrical conductivity. To demonstrate the battery's potential, the researchers 3D printed an LED bracelet with an integrated lithium-ion battery. And the bracelet battery can power the green LED for about 60 seconds. The team noted that the capacity of the first-generation 3D-printed batteries was about two orders of magnitude lower than that of commercially available batteries. Future work may include developing ways to increase the capacity of 3D printed batteries, such as "replacing polymer-based anode and cathode materials with 3D-printable slurries that can accommodate high loadings of active materials and can be printed in tandem with polymer separators, using Alternative nanomaterials, such as reduced graphene oxide, may serve as both conductive fillers and active materials, eliminating the need for inactive conductive materials and low-conductivity active materials.Also read:10kwh lithium battery 48v Alternatively, encapsulating the active material, LTO and LMO using conductive fillers before mixing in the polymer can improve the electrical contact of the active material when present in the polymer at low concentrations. The results should help those seeking to create energy-storage materials for devices and devices that can be 3D printed to make batteries of arbitrary shape.